Mum asks: how would you feel if it was your son who was stabbed ?

THE mum of a teenager who was stabbed to death has hit out at the Deputy Prime Minister for not backing tougher sentences for knife crime.

Jen Singleton spoke out after Nick Clegg claimed that mandatory prison sentences would increase offending, result in innocent people behind bars and hit the prison population.

Those words have angered the mum of Lewis Singleton, who was just 18 when he was stabbed to death in Woolston in 2007, and she has urged the leader of the Liberal Democrats to step into “the real world”.

The Conservatives want to introduce an automatic prison sentence for offenders caught twice with a knife – a move backed by Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, who said that similar measures for gun offences had led to a drop in the number of young people being picked up with the weapons.

But Mr Clegg said that mandatory sentences could lead to innocent people being imprisoned or young girls coerced by gang members into carrying weapons being jailed when they were really the victims.

Mrs Singleton said: “I don’t think he is in the real world.

“He needs to come down and speak to people affected by knife crime and not just pay lip service to this issue.

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“If I came face-to-face with him I would ask him how he would feel if his son was stabbed as he walked home by a gang of six.

“How many chances do they get? My son didn’t get a chance, yet those who carry knives are given chance after chance.

“I’m not sure that there are the prison spaces for this to happen, but they need to get some automatic punishment if they are cautioned but are still found carrying a knife.

“We need a whole programme that is wrapped up around short-term sentences and it should be mandatory that all schools teach about the dangers of knife crime.

“This is not somebody’s problem, it is everybody’s problem.”

Conservative Justice Secretary Chris Grayling has called for offenders caught twice with a knife to face an automatic six-month jail term.

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Mr Grayling wants mandatory jail sentences to be introduced through an amendment to the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill, which returns to the Commons on Monday.

Defending his position, Mr Clegg said: “All my political life, I know it is difficult, I know people just want to think there is some instant solution for every single crime under the sun, but all my life I have always believed that the best way to deal with crime... it’s better to be smart on crime than sound tough but actually doing things which help increase crime.”

This is difficult. On the one hand, we have clueless Clegg, who is "uterly wet and a weed it panes me to think i am of the same blud", who is also a LibDem and therefore wrong about everything. On the other hand, we have a woman whose critical thinking is clouded by bereavement and emotion. Being the mother of a victim of crime does not confer her with any expertise, insight or knowledge of crime, criminals or criminology. It might be easier to take Hogan-Howe's advice, had he not embarrassed himself and tarnished his reputation with his handling of the Met Police's accusations concerning Andrew Mitchell. Any word from the impartial academics?

This is difficult.
On the one hand, we have clueless Clegg, who is "uterly wet and a weed it panes me to think i am of the same blud", who is also a LibDem and therefore wrong about everything.
On the other hand, we have a woman whose critical thinking is clouded by bereavement and emotion. Being the mother of a victim of crime does not confer her with any expertise, insight or knowledge of crime, criminals or criminology.
It might be easier to take Hogan-Howe's advice, had he not embarrassed himself and tarnished his reputation with his handling of the Met Police's accusations concerning Andrew Mitchell.
Any word from the impartial academics?From the sidelines

This is difficult. On the one hand, we have clueless Clegg, who is "uterly wet and a weed it panes me to think i am of the same blud", who is also a LibDem and therefore wrong about everything. On the other hand, we have a woman whose critical thinking is clouded by bereavement and emotion. Being the mother of a victim of crime does not confer her with any expertise, insight or knowledge of crime, criminals or criminology. It might be easier to take Hogan-Howe's advice, had he not embarrassed himself and tarnished his reputation with his handling of the Met Police's accusations concerning Andrew Mitchell. Any word from the impartial academics?

Score: 2

issacchunt says...4:46pm Fri 9 May 14

One down, may be out now and 5 bits of crap still walking the streets.

One down, may be out now and 5 bits of crap still walking the streets.issacchunt

One down, may be out now and 5 bits of crap still walking the streets.

Score: 2

Bagamn says...5:11pm Fri 9 May 14

The reason the MPs think that way is they have never done a proper days work in their lives. They have led sheltered lives and have not got a clue how we live.

The reason the MPs think that way is they have never done a proper days work in their lives. They have led sheltered lives and have not got a clue how we live.Bagamn

The reason the MPs think that way is they have never done a proper days work in their lives. They have led sheltered lives and have not got a clue how we live.

Score: 0

Paramjit Bahia says...6:18pm Fri 9 May 14

From the sidelines wrote…

This is difficult. On the one hand, we have clueless Clegg, who is "uterly wet and a weed it panes me to think i am of the same blud", who is also a LibDem and therefore wrong about everything. On the other hand, we have a woman whose critical thinking is clouded by bereavement and emotion. Being the mother of a victim of crime does not confer her with any expertise, insight or knowledge of crime, criminals or criminology. It might be easier to take Hogan-Howe's advice, had he not embarrassed himself and tarnished his reputation with his handling of the Met Police's accusations concerning Andrew Mitchell. Any word from the impartial academics?

I don't think the thinking of the mother of an innocent young victim of most serious crime is clouded, but these are reasonable views of a mother who like most people want better justice for victims of crimes. She has not joined the hang or shoot brigade, but is only suggesting what are also the views of experienced police officer, Commissioner of Met, which have proven to be correct with reduction in certain similar crimes. Just because few bad apples in the police have misbehaved not only in the case involving Tory Mitchell MP and in many others cases as well, can be no excuse for you to throw the baby out with the bath water.

[quote][p][bold]From the sidelines[/bold] wrote:
This is difficult.
On the one hand, we have clueless Clegg, who is "uterly wet and a weed it panes me to think i am of the same blud", who is also a LibDem and therefore wrong about everything.
On the other hand, we have a woman whose critical thinking is clouded by bereavement and emotion. Being the mother of a victim of crime does not confer her with any expertise, insight or knowledge of crime, criminals or criminology.
It might be easier to take Hogan-Howe's advice, had he not embarrassed himself and tarnished his reputation with his handling of the Met Police's accusations concerning Andrew Mitchell.
Any word from the impartial academics?[/p][/quote]I don't think the thinking of the mother of an innocent young victim of most serious crime is clouded, but these are reasonable views of a mother who like most people want better justice for victims of crimes.
She has not joined the hang or shoot brigade, but is only suggesting what are also the views of experienced police officer, Commissioner of Met, which have proven to be correct with reduction in certain similar crimes.
Just because few bad apples in the police have misbehaved not only in the case involving Tory Mitchell MP and in many others cases as well, can be no excuse for you to throw the baby out with the bath water.Paramjit Bahia

From the sidelines wrote…

This is difficult. On the one hand, we have clueless Clegg, who is "uterly wet and a weed it panes me to think i am of the same blud", who is also a LibDem and therefore wrong about everything. On the other hand, we have a woman whose critical thinking is clouded by bereavement and emotion. Being the mother of a victim of crime does not confer her with any expertise, insight or knowledge of crime, criminals or criminology. It might be easier to take Hogan-Howe's advice, had he not embarrassed himself and tarnished his reputation with his handling of the Met Police's accusations concerning Andrew Mitchell. Any word from the impartial academics?

I don't think the thinking of the mother of an innocent young victim of most serious crime is clouded, but these are reasonable views of a mother who like most people want better justice for victims of crimes. She has not joined the hang or shoot brigade, but is only suggesting what are also the views of experienced police officer, Commissioner of Met, which have proven to be correct with reduction in certain similar crimes. Just because few bad apples in the police have misbehaved not only in the case involving Tory Mitchell MP and in many others cases as well, can be no excuse for you to throw the baby out with the bath water.

Score: 3

cmth40 says...6:25pm Fri 9 May 14

make our jails as they use to be a punishment not the bloody sort we now have were prison officers have to call prisoners sir and abide by every request from the evil muslins that have abused/attacked/abdu cted/any english female or their own girls,then also to jail anyone with a gun or knife with proper sentances that if 5 years really are 5yrs not 2,they wouldnt be so keen to go back,we could even make it that after the time they haqve to do a year in a real run by our redundant service men camps that are hard labour

make our jails as they use to be a punishment not the bloody sort we now have were prison officers have to call prisoners sir and abide by every request from the evil muslins that have abused/attacked/abdu
cted/any english female or their own girls,then also to jail anyone with a gun or knife with proper sentances that if 5 years really are 5yrs not 2,they wouldnt be so keen to go back,we could even make it that after the time they haqve to do a year in a real run by our redundant service men camps that are hard labourcmth40

make our jails as they use to be a punishment not the bloody sort we now have were prison officers have to call prisoners sir and abide by every request from the evil muslins that have abused/attacked/abdu cted/any english female or their own girls,then also to jail anyone with a gun or knife with proper sentances that if 5 years really are 5yrs not 2,they wouldnt be so keen to go back,we could even make it that after the time they haqve to do a year in a real run by our redundant service men camps that are hard labour

Score: 0

skeptik says...8:28am Sat 10 May 14

No problem with making criminals pay with time in prison. Let's not link it to reducing the problem. History shows that even during the harsh regime of the Victorian prisons they were always full and the crime rate on the streets of some cities like London was higher than now, hence gentlemen carrying pistols and swordsticks as protection. Then it was poverty and maybe hunger that led to dangerous streets. Today - maybe a lack of discipline in the first years until it reaches a point of being too late.

No problem with making criminals pay with time in prison. Let's not link it to reducing the problem. History shows that even during the harsh regime of the Victorian prisons they were always full and the crime rate on the streets of some cities like London was higher than now, hence gentlemen carrying pistols and swordsticks as protection. Then it was poverty and maybe hunger that led to dangerous streets. Today - maybe a lack of discipline in the first years until it reaches a point of being too late.skeptik

No problem with making criminals pay with time in prison. Let's not link it to reducing the problem. History shows that even during the harsh regime of the Victorian prisons they were always full and the crime rate on the streets of some cities like London was higher than now, hence gentlemen carrying pistols and swordsticks as protection. Then it was poverty and maybe hunger that led to dangerous streets. Today - maybe a lack of discipline in the first years until it reaches a point of being too late.

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